Torrevieja (;) is a seaside city and municipality located on the Costa Blanca in the province of Alicante, in the southern part of the Valencian Community, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast of Spain.
Torrevieja lies about 50 kilometres south of the city of Alicante and had a population of 90,097 at the 2011 Census; the latest official estimate (for 2019) is 83,337. Torrevieja was originally a salt-mining and fishing village as it is located between the sea and two large salt pink lakes, known as Las Salinas de Torrevieja.
History
Until 1802, Torrevieja existed only as an ancient guard tower, which gave the town its name (Torre Vieja, Spanish, meaning 'Old Tower') and some labourers' cottages. But in 1803, Charles IV authorised the movement of the salt production offices from La Mata to the town itself and allowed the construction of dwellings there. In 1829, the town was totally destroyed by an earthquake, but the basins were soon reconstructed and re-opened. In 1931, Alfonso XIII gave Torrevieja city status by special grant. During this period, there was also a growing market for flax, hemp and cotton.
In the 19th century, the salt was mainly shipped from the town by Swedish and Dutch ships. At the time, there was only limited demand from other regions of Spain, mainly Galicia and to a lesser extent, Valencia. Although by the dawn of the 20th century, a quarter of all the salt harvested from the lagoon in Torrevieja was sold in Spain itself, and the rest was exported to foreign markets. Today, it is still an important industry in Torrevieja and a major employer. The city has a Museum of Sea and Salt.
Recent history
In recent years the local economy has hugely expanded due to the tourism industry. This includes both a strong contingent of British, Irish, Germans and Scandinavians, many of whom live there all year round, and Spanish people who have a second home in the city. By 2004, Torrevieja had the largest number of British residents of all Spanish municipalities (approx. 7,180). The high number of British expatriates has led to Torrevieja being nicknamed as the 'Costa del Yorkshire' by some holidaymakers and paella can be found served in giant Yorkshire puddings in many of the city's restaurants.
Since 2001, the city's authorities, along with Random House's Spanish subsidiary, Plaza & Janés, award Spain's second most important annual literary award, the , and its poetry correlative, .
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot semi-arid (BSh), with dry, mild winters and hot, very dry summers. October is the wettest month.
Population
In 1991, the city had 25,000 residents, two decades later close to 100,000. The father of the expansion was Pedro Ángel Hernández Mateo, mayor between 1988 and 2011. In order to encourage growth, all the land was rezoned fit for building, save for the two lagoons, designated natural parks in 1989.
The INE (Spanish Census) of 2005 showed that the city had 84,838 residents, and the ajuntament (district council area) had 95,531 residents. By January 2008 this figure had reached 103,154 of whom only 47,870 were Valencian or Spanish. More than 7,000 of the Spanish residents were originally from Madrid and not for nothing is Torrevieja known as (the beach of Madrid). However, by the 2011 census, the population had reduced to 90,097 and the latest estimate (for the start of 2019) is 83,337.
The most prominent nationalities in 2012 were:
Politics
The city is a conservative stronghold, with the (PP) maintaining an absolute majority at the municipal elections of 2007, and 2011. PP however narrowly lost its absolute majority in 2015 to a coalition of five parties which designated Green candidate José Manuel Dolón García mayor.
Transport
Torrevieja's main road link is the N-332 road linking Cartagena with Valencia hugging the Mediterranean coastline. There was once a branch line from the Alicante–Murcia railway serving Torrevieja; which closed in the late 1970s. There are plans to reopen this line.